James L. Acord was one of the most interesting artists ever to live in these parts, as Seattle’s Philip Schuyler explained in his two-part New Yorker profile in 1991.

A great tribute to him by his best friend describes his approach:

Through the 1990s, Acord worked on a project to attempt to convince the nuclear industry of the long-term dangers posed by the ways nuclear waste is stored. The ways he tried to do this were manifold. His proposal to transmute technetium 99 to ruthenium 100 as part of a transformative work of art was looked upon seriously.

R.I.P.

Jen Graves (The Stranger’s former arts critic) mostly writes about things you approach with your eyeballs. But she’s also a history nerd interested in anything that needs more talking about, from male...

9 replies on “Hanford Nuclear Artist James L. Acord Died Saturday”

  1. he gave a speech about his nuclear waste-themed art to the King County Solid Waste Division employees back in the early ’90s, and that conference room was PACKED. one of the best talks about art i’ve ever attended. he was a true original

  2. My old friend is gone. An artist, a scholar and a gentleman. He methodically pursued his almost maniacal desire to engage nuclear scientists in at least marking for the ages the radioactive mess we’ve made. He would have preferred a scientific solution that would have de-radioactivated the waste, but he felt some satisfaction in engaging the cloistered workers of Richland in dialoge. The atomic industry is a secretive one. They are trained to not speak to one another, or their families about what they do. An artist living in the neighborhood — with a tattoed nuclear license number on his neck –eventually allowed a few doors to open a crack, and the artist suggested notion of transmuting technetium 99 to non-radioactive ruthenium 100 in a reactor to be entertained. Jim, you embodied the power of vigil and relentless concentration, even while followed by private demons. I miss you already.

  4. Every time I had a residency in the Tri-Cities was an excuse to hang out with this self-described ‘emerging mid-career established artist’. What a brilliant, sweet, funny, obsessive soul. Whether it was rafting down the Columbia tracing the effects of the Hanford plume or playing cards with some of his engineer-scientist buddies, the man’s mind was relentless & spirit exceedingly generous. RIP, Jim…you are missed.

  5. Every time I had a residency in the Tri-Cities was an excuse to hang out with this self-described ‘emerging mid-career established artist’. What a brilliant, sweet, funny, obsessive soul. Whether it was rafting down the Columbia tracing the effects of the Hanford plume, playing cards with some of his engineer-scientist buddies or performing a late night physics chalk talk, the man’s mind was relentless & spirit exceedingly generous. RIP, Jim…you are missed.

  6. 66 and almost 1/4 …. very respectable ….you lived it fully, to the heights and depths and maybe even widths …Congratulations and Thank you! you pried open minds, hearts, eyes, and ears to share a glimpse of your vision and passion. Your legacy is profound and beautiful and challenging. I have no doubt that a chorus of angles is accompanying you to whatever is next. Rest in peace my friend, until we meet again.

  8. Dear james, may the Universe Embrace you and hold you in Love and Wisdom until you return to show us again how to endure and pursue the great Mystery! Bon Voyage < Honshin

  9. Thanks, atomic, for adding the memorial site link. It is evolving by the day. We will be organizing a memorial for Jim, but not for a couple of weeks. I will post the info on the jameslacord.com site when we have it.

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